


Unlocked

by Hana (SecretSmile101)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, swanqueen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 20:43:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5641246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretSmile101/pseuds/Hana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina is reminded of why you shouldn't touch anything magical without knowing what it does first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unlocked

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback welcome.
> 
> I've tried to keep this as vague as possible so you can place this where you want to within the Once time line.

Regina was walking to meet her son in Granny’s when she heard a small explosion behind her. She swung round, hands raised ready for attack but only found an empty street ahead. Well, empty apart from the plume of smoke seeping out from under the door of Gold’s shop. She wondered what the hell he was up to this time. She stormed inside to find out, using her magic to waft the fumes out of her way.

“Rumpelstiltskin!” she called, coughing.

A short man in a sharp suit limped into the shop from the back room, one hand covered in soot.

“Ah Your Majesty.” he said. “I need your help with something. Could you read what’s on the front of the shop door for me?” 

“Sure.” she replied curtly, annoyed at being asked for a favor when he was the one in the wrong. She walked over and looked at the glass. “I don’t see anything other than the closed sign.” she said.

“Exactly.”

“Ah. Well aren’t you a man of great wit!” she replied. Honestly, she thought, if she didn’t have to behave herself for Henry this would definitely be an occasion where she would punch him. Hard. 

“What are you doing?” Regina asked whilst gesturing at the smoke and coughing again.

“This is my property. What I do here is really none of your concern.” he said.

“It is when you start blowing things up.” 

She spied a small, ornately carved wooden box on the counter with a rusty old fashioned key inside. It was glowing slightly. She’d never seen anything like it. “What’s this?” she asked, reaching for the box. 

“Don’t touch it!” Rumpelstiltskin called, but he was too late. Regina had already picked up the key. She cried out at the sudden sharp pain in her mind and raised her hand to her forehead, throwing the key to the floor in surprise. The pain stopped, but was replaced by an overwhelming feeling of lost love.

“What the hell was that?!” she demanded. 

Rumpelstiltskin edged slowly towards her, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Anything feel different, Your Majesty?” he asked.

“No, nothing apart from the pain just then.” 

“Good.” he said, picking up the key whilst using the cane to support his weight. She noticed it had stopped glowing. “Now get the hell out of my shop before you ruin any more of my plans.” 

Regina had no idea what had just happened but she thought it best not to stick around and find out. Rumpelstiltskin was glaring at her as he returned the key to its box. 

She hurried up the street and into Granny’s, happy that the feeling of loss had subsided. She wondered whether the key had made her recall a past memory, or if she had felt an emotion belonging to the item’s previous owner. She hugged Henry and they sat down to order.

“Mom, are you alright?” Henry asked. “You look weird. Has something happened?” 

“No” she lied. “Everything’s fine.” She tried to shake images of characters from Henry’s comic book from of her mind. She had no why they were in her thoughts right now. 

As she was eating her salad she heard something; ‘What is Granny’s problem with my clothes!?’ 

Regina looked round, noticing Ruby angrily wiping down the table next to them. 

‘Even if I dressed like a nun she wouldn’t be happy.’ Regina heard. Except Ruby wasn’t speaking. Regina’s eyed widened in horror as her new found power continued to grow stronger. It wasn’t long before her head was buzzing with other people’s thoughts, including her son’s.

‘I wonder what she’ll say if I ask for ice cream.’ Henry mused silently.

Regina shook her head in an attempt to make it stop. It was too much. She needed to go somewhere with fewer people. 

“You know what Henry? I think you were right about me. I do not feel well right now. I’m just going outside to get some air. Stay here. I’ll be back in a minute.” 

Thoughts continued to bombard her as she walked towards the door. ‘Did my boxers shrink in the wash?’ ‘I really need to get that sore on my penis checked out.’

She bumped into someone entering the diner. ‘God she looks great again today.’ she heard.

“Woah Regina, is everything alright?” Emma asked.

“Yes. Fine, thank you. Henry’s inside. I’m just getting some air.” she stuttered before rushing down the street. She stormed back into the pawnbrokers.

“I have already told you to get out of my shop once today. How many more times will it take for you to get the message? Shall I record it for you?” Rumpelstiltskin said.

“What does that key do!?” she asked.

“Oh so it did work?” he chuckled. “Then you know full well what its powers are.”

“How do I make it stop!?” 

“Would you really want it to, Madam Mayor?” 

Regina tried to read his thoughts but felt some kind of barrier instead. “Why can’t I hear you?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t be a very good Dark One if I couldn’t block a bit of telepathy now, would I?” he replied. She clenched her fists in response to having to listen to his ridiculous sing song voice again. “Nothing can stop it dearie, and I have no idea how long it will last.” he continued. “My best guess is that it won’t stick around too long. You only made contact with the key for a brief moment.” 

“If anyone else touches it, will it have the same effect?” she asked. Out of everyone she knew the man stood in front of her was the person she would want least to have that power. She shuddered at the thought of him inside her mind.

“No.” he replied coldly. “The key’s powers only work once.”

“Thank god for that.” Regina said, leaving without saying goodbye.

After several days she was finally able to control it. She could block out most thoughts, the exceptions being when someone was particularly loud or close. She knew loud was the wrong word to use to describe it but she lacked the necessary terminology. It was more to do with the intensity of the emotion behind the thought rather than anything to do with volume.

She tried hard not to manipulate or take advantage of people, to stay on the path Henry wanted for her. However sometimes she just couldn’t resist temptation. With Henry for example, she listened until she was sure he loved her. Relief washed over her when she realised that he thought nice things about her. That he still cared despite everything she had done to him in the past. 

She knocked on the door of the Charmings’ apartment, ready to take her son out for a walk. Mary Margaret answered and ushered her in. 

‘I wish I could go with them.’ Regina heard. She looked round after realising that thought had sounded like Emma’s. The blonde was sat at the kitchen counter watching Henry put his coat on. Having been attracted to Henry’s other mother for some time Regina was more than happy to accommodate Emma’s desires.

“What are you doing this afternoon?” she asked.

“Oh. Errm. Nothing. Why?” Emma answered.

“You should come with us.” 

‘Woah weird.’ she heard in response. Regina wondered if Emma always thought so loud.

After a few more days Regina realised that the answer was yes, she did. Very loudly indeed. But only when she was thinking about her. The Queen had been pleasantly surprised to discover this. It appeared that Emma thought about her just as much as she thought about Emma. It was a promising sign.

The real give away however, happened at the Miner’s Festival when Emma unintentionally bombarded Regina with images of her tearing Regina’s clothes off. 

“Wow Emma, what did my clothes ever do to you? ” Regina said without thinking. 

Emma gasped and her eyes widened in horror. “What? Can you read my mind or something?!”

“Oh shit.” Regina said, pulling her behind a row of tents where they could talk uninterrupted. “No, not quite.” she explained. “I can just hear other people’s thoughts and…well…see what they’re imagining sometimes.” 

“How long have you been able to do this?” Emma asked.

“About a week. I touched something in Gold’s shop by accident.”

Emma began backing away. “And you’ve been spying on me this whole time?!” she said.

Regina shook her head, desperate for Emma to understand. “No. Emma, please, nothing like that. I’ve been blocking out everyone’s thoughts as much as possible in order to protect their privacy. You just… well you think so loudly. Every time I’m sure I’ve stopped you broadcasting you’re flinging another ‘interesting’ thought in my direction!”

“Oh no. This is so awkward.” Emma said looking at the ground, presumably searching for a hole to open up and swallow her.

Regina laughed and took a step forward. “It doesn’t have to be.” she said, raising her hands to hold onto the lapels of Emma’s leather jacket. She pulled her in for a kiss. 

“Oh.” Emma said, smiling. 

“Rumpelstiltskin did say it should stop soon.” she reassured.

“I still think we should wipe your own memory of what you've already seen.” Emma said half heartedly, still looking very embarrassed. 

“We could do that but…I’d much rather act out what you’ve just been teasing me with.” Regina smirked, pulling her in for another kiss. “You know my bedroom is an excellent place to carefully remove my expensive clothing.” 

Rumpelstiltskin watched them until they disappeared in a puff of smoke then carried on walking with a smile.


End file.
